Dress Up
by Auditory Eden
Summary: A day in the life of the two cutest FFVII characters. And what's this about rings? Denzel and Marlene. Read and Review, s'il vous plaît. Part two, the real wedding, is now up.
1. Dress Up

Author: Auditory Eden

Rating: K+

Warnings: NONE! (OMGMIRACLE)

Notes: Mainly Denzel and Marlene, with some amusing Cloti, and mentioned Yuffentine. Just a day in the life of Marlene and Denzel.

Dress Up

Marlene Wallace, aged ten, was bored.

Really. Really. Bored.

Tifa wouldn't let her mix drinks for the customers, even though she made the best dirty martini this side of Edge; Barret was away on a construction project and didn't call until just before bedtime; Cloud was off emo-ing himself into a stupor; and Denzel was doing homework. Marlene had already finished hers, and was now sitting at the kitchen table, kicking the legs of her chair.

She sighed. Aunty Yuffie was always fun, but she and Uncle Vinnie had gotten married and were on their "honey moon", whatever that meant, other than that they weren't there to amuse her.

Marlene slumped forward onto the table. "Denzel," she whined. He looked up from his page of multiplication problems.

"What, Marlene?" She turned on her best puppy-face pout, full blast (a skill she had learned from Yuffie). He examined her expression carefully, aware that he was now treading in deep water. He recalled one thing that Cloud and Vincent took great pains to impress upon him: _When they start making a puppy face, run for your life..._

She cocked her head to the side. "Let's play dress up!"

Denzel turned back to his homework. "Marlene, I have to do my homework, or Tifa's gonna kill me..." He stared at the page. "Damn it! I hate math!"

Hopping down from her stool, Marlene scooted around the table, climbing onto the stool next to Denzel. She balanced precariously on her knees while looking over his shoulder at the problem. Sighing in resignation, she pointed, "Denzel, four times eight is _thirty-two_. And four times _twelve_ is thirty-six."

"Thanks." He hastily scribbled in the correct answers, then packed up his homework and slid off his stool.

"Can we play dress up _now_?"

"Sure!"

xXx

Marlene pulled a white dress out of the dress up box. "Hey, Denzel?" she called. "Yeah?" his voice was muffled from under the shirt he was pulling on over his head.

"Do you remember Yuffie and Vinnie's wedding?"

His head popped out of the collar of his button-down shirt. "Of course I do. It was _awful_..."

Twirling, Marlene held out the dress. "You be Vinnie, and I'll be Yuffie!"

Denzel, quite wisely, began backing away. "Oh, no. No, no, no!"

Once more, she pouted full blast, this time looking like he was driving her to tears. "Why not? Don't you like me...?"

A look of panic crossed his face, and he stammered, "O-of course I like you, Marlene! W-what're you-"

She furrowed her brow and glared at him. "Tifa says that people who like each other get married! That's why Yuffie and Vincent did; It's like being best friends forever!"

"But weddings are so b_o_ring!" Denzel protested loudly. Neither noticed that Cloud and Tifa were standing right outside the door, out of sight.

"But the wedding's not the point, Yuffie says. She says that the wedding is just to make you appreciate being married more," she stated, with the confidence of one not to be thwarted. Then both her face and manner turned, and she said, "Or don't you want to marry me?", sounding, once again, close to tears.

Cloud was grimacing behind the doorframe as Tifa laughed silently. _Poor Denzel,_ he thought, _Marlene's got him wrapped around her little finger..._

"No! Of _course_ I do! I just don't like weddings!"

"But you hafta have a wedding to be married!"

"Weddings are boring!"

"Aunty Shera says weddings are beautiful!"

"Cloud said that if there hadn't been an open bar at Yuffie's wedding, he would have shot himself through the forehead with Vincent's gun!"

Tifa shot Cloud a death glare. He twitched.

"Besides," continued Denzel, "You need to have someone there to marry you! Like a priest guy!"

"We could get Cloud to marry us, " retorted Marlene.

He shook his head. "Cloud wouldn't do it."

"Red XIII?"

"Maybe..."

"Aren't you both forgetting something?" Tifa added, walking into the room.

Both children chorused, "What?"

She winked. "Who's gonna give Marlene away?" they stared at her blankly. "You know, at the beginning, when the brides father gives her to the groom? It's very important, symbolically."

"Well that depends...What does it mean?" asked Marlene.

"It means..." Tifa paused for effect, and Cloud rolled his eyes, "that the bride's father is saying that the groom has to protect the bride in his place for ever and ever, and that he has to make her happy."

"So...the one who gives me away should be the one who protects me?"

"Yes, that's right," affirmed Tifa.

Denzel and Marlene exchanged a glance. "Cloud!" they shouted in unison. He cringed and started to sidle out of the room.

"Get back in here!" The glare that Tifa sent him was more than enough to root him to the spot.

"And as for who marries you, well, for Yuffie and Vincent it was Nanaki, but he's not in town..." Her face split in a grin. "How about Cid?" They nodded.

"I'll go get him," Cloud proclaimed, and hurried out of the room.

"Okay, Denzel. Here's your coat, it goes over the shirt. Now, can you go stand in the hallway?"

He looked at his substitute mother as if she had grown another ear. "Why?"

"Because," Tifa said, "the groom can't see the bride in her dress until the wedding!" She shooed him out and closed the door.

She turned to Marlene, and helped her out of the princess dress she'd been wearing before, then pulled the white dress on over Marlene's head, buttoning it up the back. She quickly swapped out her pink hair ribbon for a white one, kissed her on both cheeks, and said, "You ready to get married?"

"Yup-yup!" Marlene nodded enthusiastically. Tifa chuckled, then said, "When Cid asks you if you take Denzel for your husband, you have to say 'I do', not yes or mm-hmm...okay?"

"Okay, Tifa!" Tifa smiled at the heartwarming grin on Marlene's face.

"Oh, Get over here!" She opened her arms, and Marlene rushed up and hugged her. Tifa could feel tears welling in her eyes. Her little girl, getting marr—well, not _quite_ yet. This was just a game of dress-up, after all.

_"Too ##$() young, them two are! $(*& Marry `em! ($*&#!!!"_ Cid's voice carried down the hallway, and the more quiet sound of Cloud reasoning with him could be heard.

Tifa broke their embrace, and took Marlene by the hand. "Okay, now you have to come wait in the um...closet. So Denzel can walk in without seeing you." Marlene scuttled away to the toy room closet, opened the door twirled, and snapped the doors shut on herself. Tifa smiled, then hurried to pick up the clothes they'd left on the floor. She stowed them in the trunk with the other dress up clothes, then set it on one end. Just as she was placing a vase of flowers on it (to act as altar), Cloud and Cid walked into the room.

Cloud crossed the room and whispered, "Denzel's working himself into a tizzy. We should probably mosey." She rolled her eyes at him, then turned to Cid.

"Don't see what the )$*(&$Q#$ point of this is," he told her.

She shrugged. "It's just playacting. You know the speech, right?"

"Yeah. Had to marry one of Shera's cousins a while back."

Cloud piped up. "Don't they need rings or something, since you're getting so into the details?"

"Hmm.." Tifa lunged for a packet of pipe cleaners, withdrew two yellow ones, and wound them into rings. She held onto one, and handed the other to Cloud. She sighed. "Well, guess it's time."

"You sound as though it's for real," Cloud said disparagingly. "Go get Denzel. Give him the pep talk or something."

With a laugh, Tifa strode to the door, then stepped outside. Denzel stood against the wall, chewing contemplatively on his thumb, brows drawn in a deep frown.

"Hey, you ready to be a married man?" Tifa laughed.

Denzel stared at her, blinking in a long, slow manner that she was sure he learned from Vincent. "I...guess..." he said, haltingly.

Tifa ruffled his hair, sighing wistfully. "Okay, when Cid gets to the part where he asks if you take Marlene as your wife, blah blah, you say..."

"I do!" he answered promptly. "I remember that from Vincent's wedding."

"Right." She smiled at him, imagining her two little cuties getting married for real. "Denny," Tifa said,"you know that legally speaking....and well, realistically, this isn't going to real or binding, right?"

He nodded slowly.

"And you know that you _don't _have to kiss Marlene at the end, right?

He nodded again.

"And you know that this doesn't mean you'll have to marry her for real when you grow up, right?"

"Yeah, I know! Although if we do get married...Promise you wont laugh?"

Tifa grinned widely. "Pinky promise." she proffered the digit, and he grasped it with his own. They shook twice, then he said, "Um...I'd be really happy if I married Marlene..." He twisted his hands around, starting at them. "But, y'know, she fell asleep five minutes into Vinnie and Yuffie's wedding...and she doesn't really know what, y'know, marriage is...and I do and it's not really that stuff about being best friends. She just got that from Yuffie..." Tifa laughed.

"Okay, Denzel. I get it. You're saying you _like _Marlene."

He jumped backwards, waving his hands, eyes wide and mouth a perfect "O", a blush spilling onto his cheeks. "NO! I mean, well, y'know...I don't want..but I...!" His head fell, and he began wringing his hands again.

"I'm sorry, Denny. C'mon, it's time." She took his hand and guided the still blushing boy up to the fake altar, where Cid stood glowering. Cloud was telling him something very quietly, but stopped when Denzel and Tifa drew near.

"You get the idea," he finished, more loudly.

"Yeah, yeah, I get the #$&$ idea," he grumbled. Tifa cleared her throat and added, "No swearing, either."

Denzel was twitching now, his face scrunched up with something like nerves. "Can we just...just get on with it!" he whined suddenly.

"Yeah," said Cloud. "I have a delivery." Tifa waved him off.

"Well, then, go get Marlene," she reprimanded. He slumped, shuffling off to the closet. Opening the door, he let out Marlene, who skipped out, brushed off her dress, and took his hand with a smile.

They walked up to the altar, standing between Denzel and Tifa. Marlene looked past Cloud to smile at Denzel, her eyes glowing from excitement. He grinned back weakly, swallowing. Tifa bit her lip to old back a giggle as Cid began the ceremony.

"Friends, we're gathered here today in the sights of Shiva, Ifrit, Bahamut, and all them other gods, to witness the...um...joining of this, erm, boy, to this girl. They know the point of this, and so do all of us. Does anyone have any reason they shouldn't get married? No? Good."

Now he turned to Cloud. "You givin' this girl away?"

Cloud shrugged. "Yeah.". He gave Marlene's hand to Denzel, who was turning an interesting pasty color. She squeezed his hand, and he returned the gesture with slightly trembling fingers.

"We're skipping this next bit, right?" Cid shot at Cloud, who nodded. "Alright then. Straight to the vows. Marlene, do you take Denzel, in sickness and health, for better or worse, etc, etc, to be your somethin'-or-other husband?"

Marlene practically glowed as she said, "I do!"

Cid turned now to Denzel, his face turning red from the effort of not swearing. "And do you, Denzel, take Marlene, in sickness and health, for better or worse, etc, etc, to be your go—I mean, your...um...wife?"

"I-I do," he stammered.

Tifa waved forward Cloud, to hand Denzel his ring. He stared at her, then said, "Oh, right!", and gave Denzel the pipe-cleaner ring. Denzel, remembering this bit from Yuffie's wedding, took it and said to Marlene, "W-with this ring, I t-thee wed," and slipped it on her ring finger. Marlene took her ring from Tifa, and copied him. "With this ring, I thee wed!" she announced, slipping the flimsy thing onto his finger. Cid took a deep, calming breath, and said, "I now pronounce you, um, boy and wife...? You may now—"

Cloud was making slashing movements over his throat, cutting off the final words of the ceremony. Denzel did not notice this, and leaned in to press a tiny kiss on Marlene's cheek.

Tifa whipped out her camera, taking three remarkably identical pictures all in a row. Then she dropped the camera and squealed, a high-pitch noise that caused Denzel to cover his ears. Then Marlene piped up, "Hey Tifa, when are you and Cloud gonna get married?" Tifa blushed bright red, and Cloud went very pale and gulped.

"Um, sweetie, it's not really...I-I mean, um—"

"She means Cloud's too much of a #&&$# chocobo to propose to her!" Cid laughed, his voice booming. Marlene glared at Cloud. She grabbed a fresh pipe cleaner, bent it around her finger into a ring just like hers and Denzel's, and shoved it in Cloud's face. "Ask her now, you meanie chocobo!" Cloud accepted the ring, smoothed out the wire, and, blushing fit to die, got down on one knee in front of Tifa. "I, um, uh, Tifa, would you, uhm, maybe....marry me...please?" His voice got so quiet that Tifa holding back torrents of laughter, asked, half-jokingly, "I'm sorry, what was that last bit?"

He ground his teeth slightly. "I asked...Would. You. Please. Marry. Me." he forced each word out separately, so as not to let his volume slip. "Well, duh, of course," she told him. "I was getting fed up with all your dilly-dallying."

She tried to take the ring from Cloud, but he held it back, slipping something out of his back pocket. A little black velvet box. Her eyes widened. In all her shock, she didn't move while Cloud slid the real ring onto her finger.

Denzel paused, watching the scene play out. Then his eyes widened and he said, "Crap, does this mean there's gonna be another wedding?"

The room exploded with laughter.

xXx

Parting Comments: Oh my God, it's finally done! I've been writing this for about....five months now. There may be a sequel type thing, either of Tifa and Cloud's wedding or Denzel and Marlene's. Their real one. Actually, I think I'll do Denzel and Marlene's as the sequel proper, but have Cloud and Tifa's as a separate but related one. I figured I should finish some stuff for FFVII, since I've been working on my Spirited Away stuff a lot (and still don't have a chapter out. I am determined to get #three out!).

Hugs and Kisses

Eden.


	2. The Wedding

Author: Auditory Eden

Rating: T

Warnings: Again, none! It's a miracle!

Notes: The long awaited sequel to _Dress Up_, my lone Marlene/Denzel fic. Ties in with my Yuffentine one-shot collection, _One Hundred Themes_. Please note, all ages are guessed at and approximated, not all that accurately. All Avalanche children are my OCs. Enjoy!

Square-Enix owns all except Zack Strife, Asana Kisaragi-Valentine, and Buddy Highwind.

The Wedding

Marlene was having what could only be called a panic attack. Her dress wasn't ready and the ceremony started in one hour. She had tried on the bodice before, but she knew she needed, and had been banking on, and hour or so to get used to wearing the tightly tailored dress before having to walk down the aisle in it. Fainting was not on her agenda. Perfect, flawless happiness was.

Until the dressmaker called to say one of the assistants had ripped the skirt.

While the woman had sworn to get it to her by the wedding, and on that count Marlene knew she could count on her, she really wanted to have it wear for a bit first.

A knock sounded at the door. "Hey, Marlene, honey, can I come in?" Tifa called through the door. When Marlene made a noncommittal noise, she opened it and walked in.

The sight that greeted her eyes looked more appropriate to a woman who had just been told that her husband or child was dead, rather than a woman about to marry the love of her life. Marlene sat on the stool in front of her vanity, hair unbrushed, dried in frizzy curls from her shower, tears welling in her eyes as she sat with her knees pulled up to her chest in a fluffy white bathrobe. Crying had made her skin blotchy.

"Look, honey, it's gonna be fine! You know that. You and Denzel…I thought you two had decided to get married when you were about five," she smiled warmly and pushed black hair behind her ears. "You remember that time you two had the play-wedding? The next day at recess some girl was flirting with him and you walked right over and grabbed his hand and told her off for messing with him."

"Y-yes," Marlene smiled wetly, "and he just froze and pretended to go along with it." She began to twist the hem of her robe in her hands. "But I just want today to be…."

"Perfect." Tifa smiled. "I know. That's how I felt when I married Cloud. But you know, all you two need for it to be perfect is you and Denzel. Whatever happens, as long as the world doesn't actually end, how can it be anything but perfect?"

Marlene smiled and began to stand up when Yuffie, face wide and grinning, burst into the room. "It's here!" she announced. Both of the other women stood and Marlene moved forward, hands outstretched, breath bated, reaching for the bag.

She took it from Yuffie, and in one quick moment, she slid the plastic bag off the dress and onto the floor.

A soft, full skirt, a pretty bodice, fitted with whalebone in the seams, with a line of tiny pearl buttons up the back. The whole dress was covered with an overlay of beautiful foamlike lace, and it was actually a soft cream, not a harsh white.

"Perfect," breathed Marlene.

xXx

Denzel fidgeted in his tux. The wedding was in fifteen minutes, and he was terrified. Not of Marlene. Of the wedding. He'd never been able to talk in front of crowds. How was he supposed to actually make his vows?

He remembered what Cloud had told him. _"The wedding is horrible. It sucks. But marriage is amazing. Actually, the wedding is probably to make you appreciate being married more."_

He glanced to the side, and looked at his adoptive father. Legally, he was only Tifa's son, but Cloud was as much his father as if he had been born to him. The blonde was still thin and strong, but lines on his forehead made him look older than his thirty-one years. Cloud had been talking to Vincent, who was about to fetch the girls.

Valentine didn't look old by any standard, but his age, now close to seventy-eight, showed the tiniest bit in the lines around his eyes from too many hours spent brooding. The addition of Asana to his and Yuffie's life together had etched dark circles under both their eyes, but on Vincent's pale skin, they looked like bruises. Five years had not erased them yet, and he looked quite tired, even as his five-year-old daughter ran down the stairs of Seventh Heaven in an adorable pale blue dress with marching ribbons in her hair and threw her arms around his legs. Lifting his daughter into the air, Vincent laughed a little, and she shrieked, "Daddy!" as he swung her around. Denzel smiled at them, but then Vincent put down his child and turned to Denzel and spoke. "You might want to get down to the altar." He caught sight of Denzel's slightly green face. "You'll be fine. Trust me; once you see her, nerves will be the last thing on your mind." Vincent turned away.

Denzel watched as the gunslinger ushered his daughter over to the group of other Avalanche children, Buddy and Zack. Cloud touched his shoulder, and the two made their way around the chairs set up in the main room of the bar.

To Denzel's relief, the wedding would be small, all of Avalanche, yes, but half of them were in the wedding party and there were only eight of them to begin with. There were a few extra guests, friends of Avalanche, mostly, as Denzel and Marlene had never really connected with other children their ages when Avalanche became famous. Shelke, Reeve, Rufus, Tseng, Elena, Rude and Reno had all managed to attend. No more than twenty people sat in rows, bedecked in formalwear.

The altar was pretty much just a table with a white cloth and a nice vase of flowers. For whatever reason, the women had chosen juniper, rosemary, jasmine, and orchids to make up the various bouquets around the room. The arrangement on the altar was almost three times the size of the more modest bouquets on the tables around the edge of the room. Denzel bit his lip as Cid walked up to him and Cloud. Just like in the play wedding they'd had years ago, Cid would marry them, this time for real.

After a moment, the children piled up through the door to the stairwell, running to take their seats. Cloud smiled at him, but Denzel still gulped nervously.

xXx

Marlene stood in front of the mirror in her room as Tifa pinned the delicate lace veil into her hair. She closed her eyes and felt Tifa's gentle fingers smooth the veil down over her face. When she opened them again, she took in her whole reflection. The bodice fit her well, the corseted structure meaning that she didn't even need to wear a bra. Straps of the same lace of the overlay decorated her shoulders. The buttons up the back were as straight as her spine, and she felt as though slumping was not an option. The skirt flared deliciously from her hips and fell in voluminous folds of satin. Her hair was half twisted up in a knot at the base of which the veil was pinned, and half fell in shining curls fell past her shoulders. A delicate necklace of silver bluebells, set with sapphires, was her blue. Her dress was new. Her veil was old, purchased secondhand because it matched the dress, made from antique lace. Her earrings were pearl teardrops, borrowed from Tifa for the occasion. Her engagement ring, a simple silver band set with a single tiny diamond, glittered subtly from her finger. She minutely examined her appearance for any flaw while Yuffie and Tifa got ready. When she turned back to her maid of honor and bride's maid, she felt shadowed by them. Dressed in dark blue, both looked stunning, and she began to wonder if all the white made her look washed out.

Before her panic could escalate further, however, a knock on the door heralded Vincent, clad in well fitting tux, hair neatly ponytailed, and Barret, who had even polished his gun-arm for the occasion. A significant look passed between Vincent and Yuffie, and then he spoke quietly to Marlene.

"It's time."

With Tifa and Yuffie on either side of her, Marlene made her way down the steps, bouquet in hand, Vincent and her father just behind her. She was going to get married.

They all lined up to walk in, and she heard the music begin to play. Vincent and Yuffie walked out first, then Tifa and a school friend of Denzel's walked in together, before the bride. Marlene took Barret's proffered arm as they began to walk as well. The small crowd was silent as they walked towards the altar. When they reached it, Cid began, "Who gives this woman to be wed?"

Marlene kept her eyes firmly on the ground, afraid that if she looked up, something awful would happen. She bit her lip as her father gave her away. Barret passed Marlene's hand to Denzel, then moved to take his place in the front row.

"Friends, we are gathered here today, in the sights of those who've passed to the Lifestream, in the sights of the gods, to celebrate the union of these two souls. Does anyone present have proof that they should not be wed? Speak now or forever hold your peace."

No one stood or spoke, and Marlene squeezed Denzel's hand. Cid reached for a glorified clip-board with the marriage certificate, and handed it to the couple who signed, then passed it to Tifa and Cloud, respectively, to sign as witnesses. After that, the couple turned to each other, and waited for Cid to begin the vows.

"Do you, Marlene Wallace, take Denzel Lockhart-Strife, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?" he asked. Marlene took a deep breath, and said, "I do."

"And do you, Denzel Lockhart-Strife, take Marlene Wallace, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

"I do." Cloud stepped forward to hand the pair their simple white-gold wedding bands. Denzel took Marlene's and her hand. "With this ring, I thee wed." He slipped it onto her finger.

Marlene now took Denzel's wedding ring and parroted him. "With this ring, I thee wed." She settled the band at the base of his finger, and finally looked into his eyes.

Cid spoke again. "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Denzel swept the front of her veil back, and kissed her soundly. The applause of the surrounding people was lost to them as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"I love you, Denzel," Marlene said quietly.

"I love you too, Marlene…"

xXx

Parting Comments: Well, that turned out well! Please tell me what you thought, if you feel so inclined. Stay tuned for Tifa and Cloud's wedding!

Hugs and Kisses

Eden


End file.
